How Exceptional Executive Assistants Are Keeping CEOs Thriving In This Crisis

by Jan Jones

On the best of days, many CEOs would be lost without their EAs. In the chaos of the pandemic, exemplary assistance is not a luxury, but a requirement.

With the world on Covid-19 lockdown and businesses striving to function amid unprecedented disruption, I’ve heard from numerous executives about how grateful they are for the services of their unwavering assistants. Assistants are being counted on not only to keep their executives on track, but to put into daily practice a role at which they are adept—serving as their executive’s ambassador, their “face” and “voice” to the world.

Executive assistants today frequently hear that “EAs are leaders”. Some EAs embrace this wholeheartedly, others are not quite sure. Is every EA a leader? Does every EA think and perform like a leader? Since leadership can be practised and learned, all assistants have the potential to be leaders.

Here are some leadership traits that will benefit assistants throughout their career. Remember, you don’t need to set the entire world on fire. Making a difference within your sphere of influence may be enough. For EAs with their sights on broader horizons, developing these traits will take you a long way into a promising future.

In The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker wrote “The executive is, first of all, expected to get the right things done”. Long before Drucker uttered those famous words, generations of astute executives were working in trusted partnerships with assistants who constantly asked “What needs to be done and how do I make it happen?”

HR recruiters have not educated themselves about this special category of assistants.

In the foreword to my book Cisco’s then-CEO John Chambers wrote that he interviewed 17 assistants before finally settling on the candidate who remained his assistant for more than 25 years. It got me wondering why HR placed 17 apparently unsuitable candidates in front of him.

Robust Communication: The Key to a Dynamic Executive-Assistant Partnership

by Jan Jones

The idea of the assistant being an executive’s "business partner" is quite in vogue today. Add in EA coach Adam Fidler’s insightful marriage of the HR concept of “strategic business partner” to the executive assistant role, and you’ve got a potential game plan for dynamic partnership success.

Assistants frequently ask me “How can I get really great at this job?” “How did you do it?” “How can I become a valuable assistant supporting high level executives?” “How can I differentiate myself from other assistants?” “How can I get noticed at work?”

The nature of business is that situations change constantly and rapidly. Things happen and they have to be dealt with, whether it’s clients who have last-minute issues, a boss who is stranded en route, or technology that is malfunctioning. The executive assistant is the “go to” person, so that’s who people go to. On a daily basis you “wear” many “hats” and you will be asked to put on any number of those “hats” at a moment’s notice. Knowing this, realize that flexibility is key. To quote management guru, Gary Hamel, you must be “as nimble as change itself”.

Does it drive you nuts when you see assistants writing CEO's or EA's, when it is not a possessive noun? For example, someone wrote to me "I mentor junior assistants and EA's". I certainly hope she doesn't mentor them in grammar. One assistant wrote that she is "highly experienced in working with top CEO's". Top CEO's what? She didn't say. A training event for assistants says "the need for skilled EA's has never been greater". You're telling me! Particularly the need for EAs skilled in the basics of correct grammar.